Lip cosmetics have a long and storied history. The earliest documented use of lip cosmetics was by Ancient Mesopotamian women who used crushed gemstones to decorate their lips. Cleopatra was known to combine crushed ants and carmine to color her lips and Queen Elizabeth I's pairing of bright red lips and a very pale face was all the rage in 16th century England. Up until the 1880s when the first commercial lipstick was available, women who wanted to color their lips resorted to rubbing them against dyed crepe paper or ribbons, or mixing beeswax with crushed flowers and clays for color and fish scales for shimmer. With the rise of the film industry and the actresses need for dark colors to stand out in black-and-white film, lip cosmetics gained popularity and were soon being purchased by people wishing to emulate film stars. Since then, cosmetics such as lipsticks, lip glosses, and lip stains, in a variety of formats and colors, have become a staple in the modern cosmetic kit.
Lipsticks typically contain wax, oils, emollients, and pigments. More wax is added to have a solidifying affect, rendering the retractable solid pencil/tube shape most people are familiar with. Whereas lipstick offers an intense, solid color, lip gloss has a shiny and slight coloring effect. Though initially created in 1930 to make lips shiny and glossy for films, lip gloss was soon commercialized and now comes in many colors, finishes, and flavors.
Both lipstick and lip glosses now come in a variety of formats beyond the initial solid tube shape. Viscous liquid lip products often come in a small, soft, squeezable plastic tube designed to be passed over the lips. However, less viscous lip products are also available in a small elongated cylindrical containers and can be applied with a fingertip or using a brush or a specially rounded or sloped applicator wand known as a doe foot applicator.
The container/applicator configuration has limitations in that the applicator or brush is coupled with the container and often acts as a lid, thus preventing the use of the applicator with another lip product. Also, conventional applicators often have a brush or sponge-like tip perfect for application of the product. However, these applicators do not reach the bottom of the container and are usually too inflexible to reach lip products located on the sides, especially near the top and bottom of the container. Thus, while useful for their intended purpose, the applicators are not designed to remove residual products. An estimated 20% of the lip product is unreachable by the applicator, resulting in consumers being left with the decision of tossing the container with valuable lip product inside or trying to retrieve the residual product. Retrieval attempts can include cutting the container in half to access the product; removing the stopper of the tube to enable the applicator to reach a deeper depth; and/or using another implement to scrap the bottom but not apply the product. Typically, these efforts far outweigh the little to no residual products that they yield. As a result, consumers frequently waste valuable amounts of lip products.
Many tools are available for accessing the residual material. The Beauty Spoon (www.beautyspoon.com), shown in FIG. 8A is a device with an ergonomic handle, a flexible stem and a flexible contoured spoon for scooping out liquids. The Spatty and the larger Spatty Daddy (www.thespatty.com), displayed in FIG. 8B, are mini spatulas with a flexible stem (6 or 12 inches long) that can be used to remove residual cosmetics or lotions from containers with small openings. The Beauty Spatula (www.everybeautybrand.com), shown in FIG. 8C, is another mini spatula device with a flexible stem, however, the spatula tip has an added edge to aid in retrieving cosmetics. While suitable for retrieving lotions or liquid foundation, the spatulas are not small enough to fit into the openings of lip cosmetic containers. Additionally, while all three devices are capable of retrieving residual products, none are designed for application. Thus, a separate device for applying the retrieved product is necessary which will result in loss of the product while transferring from a tool used to retrieve the product to another tool used to apply the product. Furthermore, these devices do not come with covers or other types of housing thus discouraging their use on the go and away from home.
US20120057922 discloses a cosmetic wand with an upper portion for gripping and an unciform (hook-shaped) tip for removing residual cosmetics along the top, bottom and sides of a container. This wand is a stand-alone product with it own housing for storing, and optionally, allowing for retraction and extension of the wand. The wand is not described as being flexible so it is unclear if it would be capable of accessing the tops, bottoms, and sides of containers of large diameters but small openings, such as those commonly used for lip cosmetics. Additionally, the unciform tip, shown in FIG. 8D, is made out of absorption-type materials such as polyurethane foam, which can increase cross-contamination if used with more than one product. As such, a substantial cleaning process would be necessary if moving between products with different e.g. colors, finishes, or flavors.
Thus, what is needed is a device capable of not only retrieving the residual product from a container, but also applying the product. Ideally, the device is reusable, easy to clean, travel ready, and can be used with multiple products without cross contamination.